How do you start a successful beta program?
TL;DR — Start small and find a group of people who cares about the product and growing it from the ground up.
After three years, we now have about 6 million paying users, 150k+ active community members, and 60k mobile app beta testers, 25k hardware beta testers.
Here’s Part 1, what I learned after helping grow a group of hundreds to thousands of beta testers. It all started with a handful…
Stage 1: Early volunteers
We initially relied on people that we know because we have zero brand recognition and customers. We asked them to join our beta program and created a page where they can apply or join. Example: https://wyze.com/become-a-beta-tester (We haven’t updated this page, and it still looks terrible after 3 years!) — we’ve grown to 60k beta testers in 2 years through this form.
Stage 2: Nurture them
Have a deep, meaningful connection with these early customers in channels that they feel comfortable with. We created FB groups and have an organic discussion around feedback. Make it as frictionless as possible, don’t worry about structure and processes.
Stage 3: Build trust
Be responsive and follow through. To encourage the testers to post, you need to initiate the questions and then follow through on their concerns. Show that you are listening and taking their feedback into the heart.
Stage 4: Get to know them as humans
Show genuine interest in their day-to-day life that they shared themselves. For example, I can give you the names of at least dozens of our testers and motivate them. e.g. Paul likes motorcycles, Cody is a very tech-savvy guy who can troubleshoot with me, Rick likes community moderation and fixing our forum. These are real people.
Stage 5: Ask for referrals
Once you build trust, get support to help spread the word and bring in more people. Run it as a community, not as a marketing or sales channel. If you are looking for more tactical ways, go to the groups and organizations that would most likely use your product — it seems like health institutions and universities might be good ones.
There’s no shortcut to building a good relationship with these early volunteers.